I am on a fixed schedule for K-2 students and teach them every week for 30 minutes (including check out). In the mornings I am on a flex schedule for 3-5th grade students and collaborate with teachers engaging in lessons in both the classroom and computerlabs. All 3rd-5th grade students have a 15 minute set check out time every week and each teacher has 1-3 library passes that can be used throughout the day. You can check out my flex lesson schedule (using Google Calendar) and fixed check out schedule.
*Examples of Rules:
In my library, we follow these rules:
These are also excellent examples of great library rules:
Teaching the Rules/Expectations:
5 Seconds - Students pick a slip from a bucket and they must do what that slip says in 5 seconds or less. Can do this with naming rules, naming ways to show respect, or showing how to do things in the library.
Library Intro Trivia - Divide the students into 2 teams. Have each team send up 1 student at a time to answer a question. Whoever buzzes in first and answers the question correctly first gets the point.
Library Rules and How To's charades - Have each student pick a scenario and act it out in front of the group. The team that guesses what is going on first gets the points.
A regular PPT or Prezi to introduce students to new policies in the media center. Example:
Break the students into groups of 4 or 5. Give them a section in the library and have them explain that section in detail to the class. Videotape this, put it together, and you've got your tour of the library for next year!
Dress up as a character that deals with your theme for the library that year and give the students a tour highlighting new rules, displays, and any new shelf organization you may have.
Pack a backpack full of the following things: earphones, high heeled shoes, bar of soap, folder, stones, money, bookmark, etc. See if the students can guess what each of the items means to the library and the library expectations.
Expectations for Good Listeners:
Give me a High 5 for Listening: 1 - Good eye contact with the reader. 2 - Shoulders, nose, knees and toes all point at the reader. 3 - Hands in laps or on knees or under your chin -- Keep them only in your space. 4 - Criss cross applesauced legs. 5 - Keep a small bubble inside your mouth and don't let it out unless you raise your hand and our called on.
Model what good listeners look like and what bad listeners look like. Have them practice with each other. Talk about how it makes them feel when someone isn't using their good listening ears.
Take pictures of what good listeners look like and post them in the media center.
Transitioning Tricks:
Put on some fun music when there is only 3 minutes left of checkout time. Great tunes include: anything "oldies", James Brown's "I Feel Good", a local college's fight song.
Say any one of the things on these lists to let them know that they have a certain amount of time left with their activity:
How to's:
Passes -
Everyone needs to have one before they come in the door. I give each teacher 4 laminated passes on a string for the children to wear around their necks and ask the teachers to send no more than 1 child per pass. NO pass...no library entry. That's my rule!
For me, my 5K, 1st, and 2nd graders, use the typical shelf marker when at the shelves. My 3-5th graders use a folder as a shelf marker that has their patron barcode on it for easy scanning. Keeps everything quick and easy so I don't have to collect papers. They collect anything we've done in their folder and keep it until the end of the year. We keep the folders and book sticks in a milk crate for the day they have library. It looks like this: The younger graders book sticks look like this:
I also teach the students how to use the book stick by singing this song:
You put your bookstick in
You take your bookstick out
You put your bookstick in
And ya take a book out
You do the book-y looky and you see what it's about
Now you can check it out...bumbum!
When Checking In -
I don't have a sign in sheet because I only need to account for how many children visit...not specific children. Instead, I have 2 buckets near the checkout computer. 1 says TAKE ME and 1 says GIVE IT HERE. When a student comes into the library, they take one stone (bought at the Dollar Tree) from the TAKE ME bucket and place it automatically in the GIVE IT HERE bucket. There are 100 stones to start with. When the TAKE ME bucket is empty, I pour the other bucket back into there and make sure to write down 100 on my calendar. At the end of each month, I count how many students have come to visit and then add that number to my stats!
When students are done checking out OR if they can't check out at all....
I have a "I'm Through...What Do I Do?" Chart hanging up in the library for students to choose from when they have finished checking out.
*Examples of Rules:
Teaching the Rules/Expectations:
Expectations for Good Listeners:
Transitioning Tricks:
How to's:
*Book Sticks/Shelf Markers -
- For me, my 5K, 1st, and 2nd graders, use the typical shelf marker when at the shelves. My 3-5th graders use a folder as a shelf marker that has their patron barcode on it for easy scanning. Keeps everything quick and easy so I don't have to collect papers. They collect anything we've done in their folder and keep it until the end of the year. We keep the folders and book sticks in a milk crate for the day they have library. It looks like this: The younger graders book sticks look like this:
Oakwood Windsor Zoobrary Ticket shelf markers BOLTIN.docx
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- I also teach the students how to use the book stick by singing this song:
You put your bookstick inYou take your bookstick out
You put your bookstick in
And ya take a book out
You do the book-y looky and you see what it's about
Now you can check it out...bumbum!